Chapter 229
After Zhou Jiani returned to Bin County, she never went to the county government. She just came to help. The factory would pay her a salary, and the Qianjin Brigade also paid her a salary. She had to come back no matter what.
To put it bluntly, I just came back to work. Why would I look for the county magistrate?
But she didn't expect that County Magistrate Wang would call her.
Zhou Jiani rushed to the county government.
County Magistrate Wang had been waiting in his office. When he saw his secretary bringing her in, he smiled and said, "Comrade Xiao Zhou, you've come back and you didn't even go back to your old unit to see your old colleagues."
Zhou Jiani smiled and said, "My colleagues are all so busy, especially you, who are so busy every day. How dare I disturb you?"
County Magistrate Wang nodded at her with a smile: "Slippery tongue."
"It's all the truth!" Zhou Jiani asked with a smile, "I wonder what instructions the leader has?"
"Sit down!" County Magistrate Wang gestured toward the sofa. Zhou Jiani sat down. His secretary brought her tea. He asked a few questions about her college education before adding, "Comrade Zhou, back then, you spearheaded two initiatives for Qianjin Brigade. One was the weaving industry, which is now flourishing, and you've made an indelible contribution. The other was the plastic greenhouses, which you proposed and Comrade Qiu Zeming spearheaded. I remember back then, starting with Qianjin Brigade as a pilot program and then expanding it to other parts of the city. We provided free instruction and mentoring. Sadly, your efforts have been wasted. Only a handful of people have truly persevered; eighty to ninety percent have given up halfway."
Zhou Jiani was surprised, such a high failure rate?
She had only paid attention to the plastic greenhouses in Xihe Commune. She knew that several brigades were mediocre, barely self-sufficient, and did not generate much profit. There were also one or two brigades that were doing well and had reached a supporting relationship with the Qianjin Brigade and shared channels.
I haven't paid much attention to other places.
"The government later issued a document advocating nationwide promotion, but they didn't take it seriously?" Zhou Jiani asked solemnly, "What caused the failure?"
Moreover, the Qianjin Brigade did not keep the technology to themselves when imparting it, and arranged for people to take turns to provide guidance. They wholeheartedly wanted to lead those communes and brigades that were willing to develop, but they did not expect that they could not persist.
County Magistrate Wang had already begun investigating the project, intending to implement it. He said gravely, "Through our investigation, we've discovered that the causes are largely the same. Mostly due to inadequate management, and then there are transportation issues."
Transportation issues can be solved through communication and solutions. But when officials don't make the effort, don't communicate, don't proactively respond, and simply leave it to their subordinates, who would be willing to accept such frustration?
To put it bluntly, the problem ultimately comes down to inaction of cadres.
Zhou Jiani frowned.
County Magistrate Wang said sternly, "Management is negligent, cadres are inactive, and members are not attentive. They lack the cohesion of the Qianjin Brigade and the sense of unity among the entire team. They lack responsible and qualified managers."
"Comrade Xiao Zhou, the Qianjin Brigade is lucky to have educated youth like you and Comrade Qiu Zeming."
Zhou Jiani was a little embarrassed, but County Magistrate Wang was serious. "The success of this technology in the Qianjin Brigade is not only due to the hard work of our fellow villagers, but also to your initial dedication. I heard that you and Comrade Qiu went all over the provincial capital and the capital to ask for help in finding information on planting, and led the fellow villagers in studying it. Later, you contacted the plastic greenhouse R&D team yourself, communicated frequently by phone, and later sent people to the team to study there. Your dedication is worthy of encouragement and learning."
"Now that the weaving industry has stabilized, the county plans to restart greenhouse cultivation technology and is determined to vigorously develop it, striving to make it a specialty of Bin County like the weaving industry..."
County Magistrate Wang made the decision after careful consideration.
When the country issued a document advocating the vigorous development of plastic greenhouse cultivation technology, County Magistrate Wang thought it would be a nationwide movement. However, the result was that not many places implemented it in a solid manner. Now, when winter comes, places that cannot eat fresh vegetables still cannot eat them.
Even in their own county, due to fixed production issues, it is not possible to guarantee that all families will have green vegetables on their dinner tables every winter. When winter comes, vegetables are still in short supply and there has not been much improvement.
He always felt it was a pity that the project did not develop and kept it in mind.
After all, who wouldn't want to achieve more during their time in office? If the existing path is there, why not forge a new one?
County Magistrate Wang felt that the successful example of the Qianjin Brigade was there, so why not give it another try?
Zhou Jiani couldn't help but straighten her body. When she was building the plastic greenhouse, she thought that if it was developed well, it would be nice to turn it into a vegetable town.
She really didn't care about the subsequent developments, nor did she pay too much attention to them. Now that she heard that Qiu Zeming's efforts had gone to waste, she felt a little unfair for her partner.
Now that County Magistrate Wang said he wanted to restart the project, Zhou Jiani also became a little excited.
County Magistrate Wang wanted to hear Zhou Jiani's opinion.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that her opinion is particularly important. A county magistrate’s decision does not need to be decided by Zhou Jiani.
County Magistrate Wang felt that Zhou Jiani was able to think of this project when no one else was paying attention, and persuaded the brigade cadres to start the project little by little from a half-acre experimental field, which showed that Zhou Jiani had a long-term vision.
During that time, I heard she had also spearheaded a social media platform, but it didn't take off for some reason. This young woman has a lively mind and many ideas, and she's willing to try anything that benefits the people. So, County Magistrate Wang's calling her in to discuss this issue was a sign of respect.
Zhou Jiani didn't think much about it. She just spoke when asked for her opinion. When asked about the development prospects of plastic greenhouses, she would carefully choose her words to talk about the prospects of the project, the technical support needed at this stage, the problems that might be encountered in the process, etc. She also suggested that the county invite a professional team to be stationed in the name of the government, assign specific people to be responsible for the development of the greenhouse project with all their strength.
County Magistrate Wang listened carefully and asked his secretary to take notes.
This scene made Zhou Jiani feel a little embarrassed, but she also felt the joy of being recognized. She was so happy that she talked a lot and naturally mentioned Professor Fu.
County Magistrate Wang had not expected such a connection. After hearing that Zhou Jiani had gone to the capital, she had specially visited Professor Fu, and he was deeply impressed.
She had only borrowed some information when she started and had always remembered the favor. Moreover, the greenhouse was part of the Qianjin Brigade's work and benefited the entire brigade, not just her personally. However, she still went to express her gratitude.
County Magistrate Wang thought with a bit of regret that if Comrade Zhou had still stayed in the county, he would have been the most suitable person to lead the project.
Now that the summer vacation is half over, if the project can be finalized earlier, Comrade Xiao Zhou can be recruited back to help.
Zhou Jiani was very interested, mainly because her classmates in the Economics Department were too eager. They were only freshmen, but they were already showing signs of wanting to delve into the research topic.
Zhou Jiani wanted to start with the rural economy.
Now she has three options. One is the weaving industry which has been successful; the second is the contract responsibility system which she mentioned to Zhang Baosheng that day; and the third is the plastic greenhouse that County Magistrate Wang wants to develop.
At noon, County Magistrate Wang invited Zhou Jiani to the cafeteria for lunch. Zhou Jiani asked about the project launch plan: "Are you planning to launch it this year or next year?"
The greenhouse vegetable project also faced resistance within the county. The success of Qianjin Brigade stood in stark contrast to the failures of other communes and brigades. County Magistrate Wang felt that since Qianjin Brigade had succeeded, there was potential for further implementation, and it was worth a try.
Those who oppose it think that the failure of so many teams shows that the technology is not yet in place and that even if they were taught step by step, they still couldn't learn it. At that time, many people were eager to try it with great enthusiasm, but most of them eventually stopped doing anything.
There is no need to waste financial and material resources to promote it vigorously. Even if we really want to promote it, we should select one or two pilot areas, like the Qianjin Brigade, to first use half an acre or one acre of land as experimental fields, and then slowly expand it if it is successful.
County Magistrate Wang was very determined: "It will be launched this year!"
Zhou Jiani said, "Then I'll go back to the Qianjin Brigade and ask Liu Yan if he's been in touch with the professional team and get their contact information."
"Thank you for your hard work, Comrade Xiao Zhou."
Zhao Yuzhen had just greeted her from a distance, but seeing the county magistrate was there, she didn't bother him. After dinner, she went to see Zhao Yuzhen, chatted with her for a while, borrowed her work phone to call the Xihe State-owned Restaurant, and ordered thirty meat buns and a pot of steamed buns before leaving the county government.
Zhou Jiani did not return to the factory. She went to the former dormitory area, visited Sister Dai, and prepared to take the last bus back to Xihe Commune in the evening.
As soon as she got on the bus, she heard someone calling her, "Sister Jiani."
Zhou Jiani turned around and saw Xiao Min.
Xiao Min was still a little embarrassed, and after a moment of hesitation, she said, "Sister Jiani, please sit here with me."
Zhou Jiani was stunned for a moment before reacting. She squeezed over and held her down. "Just sit still." She glanced back and forth at her face. "What's going on?"
Xiao Min smiled sheepishly and said, "Just be friends." Then she added sheepishly, "I told my mom I was here to hang out with you. If she calls, don't let her know."
Zhou Jiani pinched her face: "You used me as an excuse, but I was the last one to know."
"Please, Sister Jiani." Xiao Min pulled her hand and shook it, "I'll treat you to a meal."
Zhou Jiani laughed and said, "I can't even let you treat me to a meal. Someone kidnapped you, wouldn't he pay a price?"
Xiao Min blushed slightly: "It's all right."
The two of them laughed and joked for a while.
When I arrived at Xihe Commune, I saw Bai Haoyang waiting there.
Bai Haoyang borrowed someone's 28-inch truck and was about to pick up Xiao Min. But when he saw two people getting out of the car, he suddenly felt embarrassed. "Sister-in-law, why are you back today? Don't you have classes tomorrow?"
Zhou Jiani rolled her eyes and said, "Can't I come back tonight to prepare lessons?" Then she waved her hand and said, "You two go your own way. It's still early. I'll walk back slowly."
How could this work? If Brother Ming knew about this, he would definitely be punished. Bai Haoyang didn't have the guts to do that.
But Zhou Jiani really didn't want to be a third wheel. Long-distance relationships were not easy, and they were new, so she didn't want to be bothered by this person and waved her hand to send them away.
After the two left, Zhou Jiani went to the state-owned restaurant to pick up the meat hot pot she had ordered for lunch, and then waited for a pot of steamed buns that had just come out of the pot, and left with them.
After leaving the town, I saw that there was no one around, so I put the things into the warehouse and only kept five to burn and put them in my backpack.
He took out a bottle of Coke from his backpack, drank it while walking, and strolled back to the village.
She came back at night and stayed at Zhang Huihui's house. The village took care of Zhou Jiani's food and accommodation, and subsidized Zhao Mei's family with grain. Zhao Mei's sister-in-law refused several times but failed. Zhou Jiani also asked her to keep it. Zhao Mei said helplessly: "I am very anxious to hold this grain. Take it with you when you go back, or take it to the grain station to exchange for some national grain coupons, and then add it to the food rations when school starts."
Zhou Jiani didn't argue with her and stuffed two steamed buns into Zhang Huihui's hands: "Eat them while they're hot."
Zhao Mei said angrily, "You feel uncomfortable if you don't spend money, right?"
After dinner, Zhou Jiani went to the greenhouse.
There was a small square table outside the No. 1 greenhouse. One of the legs was missing and was padded with broken bricks. Liu Jingguo and Liu Yan, father and son, were swatting mosquitoes while sipping porridge with their heads down.
Liu Jingguo caught a glimpse of Zhou Jiani coming over, and he hurriedly greeted her: "Jiani, you're here. Have you eaten?"
"Uncle Liu, I've finished eating. I came to ask Liu Yan something."
Liu Yan turned around and went to the duty room to get a stool and said, "What's the matter?"
Zhou Jiani asked him if he had any contact with Professor Zhao's team.
Liu Yan scratched his head and said sheepishly, "I called them a few times at first, but then I felt embarrassed to bother them all the time. If I had any questions, I'd just contact Brother Qiu, and he'd contact them. The less I contacted them, the more nervous I became... so I never contacted them again. But Brother Qiu came to talk about this a few days ago, and he told me they've moved."
Yes, he has to be her boyfriend.
Zhou Jiani was eagerly waiting for Qiu Zeming's call, and her boyfriend did not disappoint her. As soon as she returned to Zhao Mei's house, a child from the village came and asked her to go to the village committee to answer the phone.
Qiu Zeming arrived in the morning, but something urgent happened there and he didn't have time to call until now. He called the factory first, and learned from the factory that Zhou Jiani had returned to the Qianjin Brigade, so he called here again.
Zhou Jiani asked him if the journey was smooth and if his arm hurt, and asked him when he would go with her. Finally, she mentioned the vegetable greenhouse and Professor Zhao's team.
As expected, he has to be her boyfriend, so he can just open his mouth.
Zhou Jiani quickly took her notes and said a little aggrievedly for Qiu Zeming, "I came here to learn so much, but I didn't expect that I didn't develop anything."
Qiu Zeming remained calm. "It's not surprising. I spoke with everyone at the time, and they were all quite serious about learning. But I could tell from their words that they, or rather their local officials, weren't motivated by the need to benefit the local area. They were more driven by a desire to achieve results through the greenhouses. They were a bit too eager for quick success. We had only a brief acquaintance with them, and we'd warned them, but they didn't take it seriously. So failure was inevitable."
"County Magistrate Wang wants to promote this vigorously. The scope of this project is bound to be huge, and there will definitely be a lot of resistance. It all depends on whether he can persevere."
At that time, the glory of the Qianjin Brigade made many people jealous and it stole the limelight.
Zhou Jiani felt a little uncomfortable. She thought that what affected everyone the most at that time was income generation, and that the people would benefit from it. However, she didn't expect that what affected them the most was being in the spotlight.
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